hagar Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 (edited) Has anyone had this? I take 50mg at night for insomnia and before I fall asleep my heart starts pounding in my chest, and is still doing it when I wake up. I also start to feel really shaky and nervous about 30 minutes or so after taking it. Is this something to worry about? I will mention it to pdoc if I can remember to on Monday, but until then- anyone else experience this? Thanks! eta: Also, sometimes this prevents me from falling asleep at all after taking it. Edited May 10, 2014 by hagar running Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brainweather Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 this is weird. is it a spike in anxiety or does it feel more physical (can be hard to separate though..)? are you taking IR or XR? for some people they're like two different drugs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 (edited) It feels purely physical. I don't have any mental anxiety (for lack of a better phrase) that accompanies it. It just feels like the jitters, like I drank too much coffee or took a stimulant or something. I'm not sure, I think it's IR because it's just regular generic quetiapine fumarate. What I'm mainly worried about, probably irrationally, is it fucking with my QT interval or something. I'm sure this isn't happening, but I can't help but wonder. Edited May 10, 2014 by hagar running Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I remember when I was in the hospital and was being started on Seroquel. I got my meds at around 10pm and fell asleep shortly after with no physical symptoms. The morning was a totally different story, When the nurse woke me up for breakfast and I sat up my head was spinning, my heart pounding very fast and was nauseous. At that point my blood pressure was checked and it showed I had postural hypotension where the blood pressure drops when going from lying to sitting or sitting to standing, a very unpleasant feeling. So perhaps your blood pressure is dropping?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Rowan, now that you mention it, that is definitely possible! Thank you. I'm gonna ask my pdoc what she thinks about it Monday and maybe try to get a physical next week just in case. How do they treat that, if you don't mind me asking? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowan77 Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi Hagar In my experience once I reached the dose my pdoc wanted me at and was on that dose for about a week those dreadful symptoms went away without treatment. It really affected me at the beginning and every time my dose was increased. Hope that dreadful sensation goes away soon for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inabook Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Hi, Seroquel (100mg 1 hour before going to sleep) gives me low blood pressure.... but only for the first 4-5 hours after taking it: I once actually fell/half fainted from it because I tried to stand up for more than 10 min at the peak of the Seroquel's action. Otherwise, it gives me pounding heart and light headedness, so I just make sure I don't make sudden moves/standing up. But it is always gone by the morning. I asked my doc, who checked my blood pressure: it is fine, just a bit low, during the day, and seems to drop only after taking the Seroquel. Her advice: "avoid standing up/go to bed once you have taken it." So... asking your doc to check whether the rest is fine would be a good idea, I guess? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrTastybutt Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 I had much the same as rowan. It went away after a while but it was hell before then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Thanks for your input/experiences everyone! I have diazepam too so I think I'll use it for sleep and just avoid taking the Seroquel until I can ask pdoc about all this next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tryp Posted May 10, 2014 Share Posted May 10, 2014 Seroquel can cause tachycardia as well as orthostatic hypotension. I had some palpitations from it. My resting heart rate was also 100-120 the entire time I was on it. They sent me to a cardiologist, did EKGs and everything. My QTc was fine and my holter was fine too. And it went away as soon as I got off Seroquel. Totally benign, just annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted May 10, 2014 Author Share Posted May 10, 2014 Totally benign, just annoying. That's a relief. I would love to get an EKG just to make absolute sure (I should probably get one anyway because heart fuck-ups run in my family). Thanks! And, yeah, it eventually goes away during the day after I take it, but comes back at night when I take the next dose. It's got to be what's causing it- it's just that I'm on at least 3 meds (not sure about lithium) that list QT/heart problems as possible side-effects on their info sheets, so I'm a little worried. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted May 11, 2014 Share Posted May 11, 2014 I found Seroquel IR in any dose would do the same to me. Seroquel XR would not. Annoying, but not dangerous according to my pdoc. He switched me to XR when I said it was causing me to panic. I'd get the physical symptom and it would cause me to panic.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted May 11, 2014 Author Share Posted May 11, 2014 I found Seroquel IR in any dose would do the same to me. Seroquel XR would not. Annoying, but not dangerous according to my pdoc. He switched me to XR when I said it was causing me to panic. I'd get the physical symptom and it would cause me to panic.. Does the XR work to knock you out at night? I'm not on it as an antipsychotic (I have two other AAPs for that in my cocktail), purely just to knock me out at night at 50mg. Thankfully it doesn't cause me to panic, it's just...unpleasant, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Posted May 14, 2014 Share Posted May 14, 2014 The XR you have to take earlier, it is extended release, and it does knock you out, eventually.. It takes a little longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted May 14, 2014 Author Share Posted May 14, 2014 Thanks for the info! But, today I told my pdoc about all this so she switched me to 5mg to 10mg (however much is needed) of Zyprexa for sleep. She said if it kept happening to go get a physical. I probably should anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamito Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 This happened to me for a while on Seroquel. It was really frightening and I had to stop the drug. I went back on it and it hasn't happened for a few years. I feel your pain as it is like a purely physical panic attack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hagar Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Thanks, Pamito. a purely physical panic attack. Yes, precisely that. It's kind of like when I'm at the dentist and they give me lidocaine with epinephrine or whatever in it. Maybe I can try it again in a few months or a year and see if it comes back, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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